An Unexpected Request
by Zathara001
Summary: Kara Danvers returns to Earth 1 to ask a favor of a certain Emerald Archer.
1. Chapter 1

NOTE: All rights in this work are hereby given to Greg Berlanti and the other folks at WB/DC/CW who own these characters.

* S * S *

Star City really wasn't a beautiful city, Kara Danvers thought as she walked toward its City Hall. During her first visit, she'd been too busy fighting Dominators to have gotten more than glimpses of the city Oliver Queen called home, but even those brief glimpses suggested a modern city, mostly built - or rebuilt, maybe, because a lot of the buildings looked new - on industry, choosing the efficient and effective over the beautiful.

Now, on her second visit, that impression was only reinforced as she strolled rather than flew through the city, absorbing the views like any tourist might. She was surprised to find that in some ways, it reminded her of Argo City.

She put that thought aside as she stepped into the lobby of City Hall. It was surprisingly easy to get to the top floor where the mayor's and city council's offices were, made even easier because whatever other differences there might be between this Earth and her own, the language was same in both written and oral form.

Kara stepped into the lobby of the mayor's office and approached the receptionist. Channeling every ounce of confidence she'd ever had, she smiled. "Hi. My name's Kara Danvers, and I'm here to see Oliver Queen."

The receptionist - a woman who appeared a few years older than herself with straight dark hair - checked the computer in front of her. "I don't see a Kara Danvers on his schedule."

"I'm a friend," Kara said, "and I'm only in town a little while."

"I'm sorry, but you'll have to make an appoint-"

"Kara?"

Kara turned toward the newcomer, smiling again when she recognized the newcomer. "Hi, Thea."

Thea stepped forward to hug her. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. Is there a problem?"

"No, not like that," Kara said. "I just need to see Oliver for a minute, if that's okay."

Thea looked surprised for a moment, then turned to the receptionist. "He's not with anyone right now, is he?"

The receptionist's lips tightened. "No, ma'am."

"Go on in," Thea told Kara. "But don't leave without saying goodbye."

"I won't," Kara promised, and stepped through the frosted glass double doors.

The office before her had a wall of windows overlooking the city, and a sitting area off to the right. To the left, Oliver Queen sat behind a desk, his attention focused on something on his desk.

"What is it, Thea?"

Kara couldn't help smiling. "For starters, I'm not Thea."

He was on his feet and rounding his desk with reflexes even faster than she remembered, and for a moment, she thought he was going to attack her.

Equally quickly, his expression melted into a smile - at least as much a smile as she'd ever seen him have - and he was holding out his hands to her.

"Kara."

She ignored his outstretched hands, instead taking two quick steps forward to hug him. "I'm surprised there's so much security here."

"Ask Nate Heywood about it sometime," Oliver said, letting her go and taking a step back. "It's nothing to a super girl like you, but Star City isn't as safe as I'd like it to be. Yet."

Kara had to grin. "But you're working on it?"

"We're working on it," Oliver agreed, again with the hint of a smile. He sobered almost immediately. "Why are you here?"

"I need your help."

Something in Oliver shifted, and suddenly he wasn't the affable mayor of Star City. Instead, Kara faced the Green Arrow. "A problem on your Earth? I'll call Barry, and -"

"No," Kara said quickly. "No crisis. It's something else, something personal. Can we talk about it over dinner? I'd buy, but I don't think they'll take my credit card."

* S * S *

"Thanks, Henri," Oliver said as he held Kara's chair for her. It had been a long time since he'd come to Giuseppe's, but most of the staff hadn't changed.

"A pleasure to see you again, Mr. Mayor." Henri draped Kara's napkin in her lap, and offered her a menu while Oliver seated himself.

When Oliver had his own menu and he and Kara were alone at the table, he couldn't help smiling at the somewhat stunned expression she wore. He quirked an eyebrow in question, and she shook her head.

"I don't think mayors get this kind of treatment on my Earth."

Oliver chuckled. "It's not because I'm mayor. My family had money - my father made a lot of it, and I lost a lot of it, or got it tangled up in legal battles for a couple of years. But there's still plenty left to treat a pretty girl to a nice dinner."

It was something he hadn't done in years - not really. He'd brought Felicity to nice restaurants, of course, but she was just as happy with cheap take-out and a night in. He never had to impress her, and he'd never tried. The realization made him frown inside. Was he trying to impress Kara?

But she was speaking again, and he brought his attention back to her.

"What's that like?" she asked. "I mean, I'm a reporter, I can run off whenever - mostly - as long as I come back with a story. But being mayor…"

She trailed off as Henri returned with a bottle of wine. Oliver barely glanced at the label - whatever it was, it would be expensive and presumably good - before he nodded. Deftly, Henri opened the bottle and poured a taste for him.

Oliver sipped the wine, confirmed it hadn't gone bad in the bottle, and looked up at Henri. "Excellent, thank you."

When Henri had poured the wine, taken their orders, and departed again, Oliver looked at Kara.

"You're right, being mayor doesn't offer the kind of freedom your job does," he said. "But Star City needs a mayor who's not afraid of the criminal elements in the city."

Kara's lips twitched, and after a moment, she gave up the struggle and just laughed. "Criminal elements? Definitely political talk."

"You'd rather I said bad guys?"

"If the shoe fits." Kara's eyes were sparkling as she took a sip of wine, and Oliver hadn't felt this good, this light, in years.

"I suppose," he conceded. Then, "Why are you here, exactly?"

She dimmed, and wouldn't look up as she said, "Remember I said my Earth could use an Oliver Queen?"

"Not as much as this Earth could use a Supergirl. Go on." But she didn't speak, and after a few long moments, he said, "Surely you don't want me to run for mayor?"

"No, not that." But she smiled, at least a little, and she was talking again, even if she fiddled with her glass rather than look at him. "It's just -"

"Just what?" Oliver prompted quietly.

Kara took a breath. "I need someone I can trust, who knows the truth about me, and -" she looked up at him defiantly, almost challenging - "and who won't laugh when I tell him why I'm here."

Oliver met her gaze. "I promise I won't."

* S * S *

Kara felt the weight of Oliver's promise, and found herself almost squirming in her chair. She could be out of here and back on her Earth before Oliver could blink, let alone follow her - but that would be wrong for so many reasons.

Finally, she met his gaze once again. "I need someone to teach me how to have sex."

That had blindsided him, but he didn't laugh. He didn't even smile. "I'm told the internet is for porn…"

"Oh, Rao, you have that musical, too?"

"'Fraid so."

"I'm sorry. But still - the internet doesn't know how to deal with anything like me," she said. "I'm stronger and faster than Earthlings on either your Earth or mine. And that applies to _all_ my muscles."

"Of course it does," Oliver began. She saw the moment he got it. "Oh."

"Yeah. Oh."

Kara wasn't certain whether the server's arrival with their meals was a relief or a curse. Either way, she took a bite of her chicken marsala and was not surprised when the taste was, for lack of a better word, exquisite. Oddly, she gave thanks that she wasn't a food critic. She'd hate to have to find words to describe the meal.

When she looked up again, Oliver was regarding her in that steady, assessing way he had. "There's someone you're interested in."

His perception shouldn't have surprised her, not after everything Barry had told her about him and her own observations during her last visit to this Earth. There was one detail he had wrong, though, and she corrected him immediately.

"There was. We broke it off before it got that far. But ever since, I've been thinking, and wondering how it could go wrong if -" she broke off, uncertain how to finish that sentence, and took another bite of chicken.

"Why come to me?" Oliver asked.

"Because of all the Earthlings on both our Earths who know the truth about me, you're the one I trust the most."

He stared at her without speaking, and she hurried on.

"On my Earth, there's my adoptive sister and mother. One's like my brother. And there's the guy I broke it off with…"

"Asking him could be awkward," Oliver acknowledged.

"On this Earth, there's you, Diggle, Barry, and Cisco. Cisco - I don't really trust him, yet. Diggle's married. Barry's like my brother _and_ he's with Iris."

"Sounds like you've thought this through." Oliver sounded approving, so she continued.

"Of the Legends, I couldn't trust Mick with this, and Ray reminds me too much of my cousin. Professor Stein's married and Jax is … well, Jax. Of your proteges, Curtis is married, Wild Dog - just no." Kara broke off when she realized he was struggling to contain his laughter.

"What?"

"In your process of elimination, I was the one you couldn't eliminate."

Kara felt the blush heating her cheeks even as stared at him. " _No._ No, it wasn't like that at all. You were the first one I thought of, and when I wondered why it was you, then -"

But Oliver was holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "Kara - it's okay, Kara. Whatever your reasons, I'm flattered."

"But?"

"But what?" Oliver looked genuinely confused.

"That sounded like there's a but after it."

Oliver smiled. "No buts. I'm flattered, and I'll help."


	2. Chapter 2

_What the hell have I gotten myself into?_ Oliver let himself into the loft and secured the door behind him. He shoved the question and its attendant, unacknowledged, nervousness aside and crossed to unlock and open the balcony doors.

Kara floated down to alight on the balcony beside him, oddly incongruous in demure civilian clothes rather than her suit. But he'd asked her to join him at home discreetly. No sense in giving tabloid reporters any more ammunition than they already had.

"You lock your balcony doors?"

"We may not have many people on this Earth who can fly," Oliver said, "but there are plenty who can climb buildings."

To underscore his point, he secured the door once again, and she smiled.

"I should've brought the suit," she said.

"Next time." Oliver crossed to the kitchen.

"Next time?"

He chuckled at the confusion in her tone and pulled a bottle of wine from the rack as he answered. "Pretty sure there'll be a next time - we're friends, right?"

"I didn't think you made friends that easily."

When he put the bottle on the island, he smiled at her. "I don't, usually. But you stood with us against the Dominators - and Barry considers you a friend, and Thea and Felicity would make my life a living hell if I pissed you off too badly." He shrugged. "Friends. More or less."

"Friends," Kara repeated, her tone thoughtful. "More or less. I get it." She came to stand across from him. "You know alcohol - Earth alcohol - doesn't affect me."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "So you want to just … get to it?"

He bit back a grin as she ducked her head. "When you put it like that, it sounds kind of bad."

"I didn't mean it to. I just thought you might be nervous."

"You have more to be nervous about than I do," she said. "I could break you -"

"You won't." Oliver put certainty in his tone - not difficult, because he believed his words.

"You can't know that," Kara protested. "I've gotten pretty good at holding back, but what if I lose it -"

Oliver had to be honest. "I'm hoping you will."

"- lose control of my strength," Kara kept on as though he hadn't spoken. Oliver decided that was a trait all the women in his life would share. "What if -"

"Kara." Oliver came around the corner of the island and rested his hands on her shoulders. When she looked up at him, he said, "It'll be okay."

"But -"

Before she could start babbling again, Oliver bent to press his lips to hers.

She tensed, and Oliver braced for whatever she might do. But she only took one step closer so their bodies touched, and deepened the kiss. He pulled her tight against him and let his lips play with hers. Inexperienced, he thought, but enthusiastic.

When he finally broke for air - and that was new, _him_ being the one who had to breathe - she whimpered, and then looked surprised that the sound had come from her own throat.

"Not regretting your choice, I hope," Oliver said, keeping his tone light, teasing.

"Rao, no. Not at all." She stood on her tiptoes and he accepted the invitation to kiss her again.

Kara was also a fast learner, or else Oliver was more touch-starved than he'd thought. Since Felicity left him, he hadn't indulged. He told himself it was because the mayor needed to be discreet, but the truth was that he just hadn't been interested in the deception that would be required if he found someone outside the circle of those who knew his secret. That was a dance he didn't want to repeat.

When he came up for air again, he was proud that Kara sounded as breathless as he felt when she said, "Should we move to the bedroom?"

"If you want," he said.

"Where?"

"Upstairs, then left."

"Mm." Kara wrapped her arms around him, and when he realized her intent, he tensed.

Then his feet were off the ground and she was floating them toward the stairs, then up, and then to the bedroom. When she set them down, she pulled back to look up at him, and her expression was troubled.

"What?"

"You're - are you okay with that?"

"Being actually swept off my feet by a pretty girl? Why wouldn't I be okay with it?"

"No, seriously. Are you okay with me using my powers?"

"Anyone who's not doesn't deserve you." It could have been a line - and in his pre-island days, it would've been, and Oliver knew it. He could only hope she felt his sincerity.

Kara smiled, hesitantly, and Oliver reached up to slide her glasses off. "You obviously don't need these. Why do you wear them?"

"Family tradition, I guess. My cousin wears them as a disguise, and I figured if it worked for him, it would work for me."

Oliver set the glasses on the bedside table. "And wearing them here is habit."

"Yes."

"You're beautiful with or without them." Oliver stroked his thumb down her cheek, was rewarded with a blush.

"You don't have to - I mean, we know what we're doing, right?"

"Doesn't mean it can't be fun while we do," Oliver countered, and pulled her close for another kiss. For the first time in years, he wished he was a little more like the Ollie he'd been before the _Queen's Gambit_ , before Lian Yu. That Ollie would've thrown himself into the night and damn the consequences.

The Oliver he was now wasn't as comfortable with that kind of night, but he summoned some of younger Ollie and smiled against Kara's mouth.

"What?" she asked, and there was a catch in her voice that told him he was doing something right.

"I always wished there were a female speedster," he said. "Wondered what it would be like to be undressed at super-speed."

A heartbeat later, Oliver was at the center of a localized hurricane, fighting to keep his feet under him and his dinner in his stomach. Kara might be as fast as Barry, but she wasn't _just_ a speedster, and while Barry had mostly learned to compensate for normal people, Kara hadn't. Oliver wasn't certain she even knew she should.

But that was a conversation for another time, and he shoved the thought down as Kara came awkwardly to a stop before him. A glance downward confirmed she'd left his underwear on.

He grinned. "Cool."

She smiled in return. Then he slid one hand along her hip. "My turn."

There was no chance he could be even a quarter as fast as she'd been, so Oliver took the opposite tactic, undressing her slowly, savoring every inch of exposed skin, caressing it with fingers or lips or teeth, eliciting small, inarticulate sounds that made his blood sing in a way it hadn't since... he couldn't remember when.

Finally, she stood naked before him, and he paused at her uncertainty. "We can stop whenever you want."

"No." Kara's tone was firm. "Don't stop. I don't want to stop."

"Then we won't." Oliver risked catching her up in his arms. She didn't resist, which was the only reason he could swing her around to lay her down on his bed. She was grinning when he did.

"You like that?" he asked.

"I like feeling normal," she said quietly. He looked up to see that she had her eyes closed. "Just…normal."

Oliver nodded, though she wouldn't see it with her eyes closed. He understood that desire to just _be_ , without the trappings of hero or vigilante or alien or millionaire. The least he could do was indulge her in that tonight.

He kissed her again, briefly, as he shifted position so that he lay beside her. He trailed a hand down her neck and chest to her nipple, rubbed his thumb around it.

She moaned, and he said, "Can you feel that?"

"Of course."

"I watched you shrug off arrows, Ray's blasters, Firestorm and Heatwave's flames. And you feel _this_?" Oliver pinched her nipple lightly between his thumb and forefinger.

She squirmed and gave a little yelp. "Yes. Yes, I -"

"Good." He pinched again, and her back arched. "How about this?"

He bent his head and took her nipple between his teeth, worrying its tip with his tongue.

Her only answer was a long, low moan. Oliver smiled and kissed her nipple, reveling in her reactions as much as his own and wondering at that. Kara wasn't a random hook-up, like pre-island Ollie would've indulged in. Nor was she a casual fling that the Arrow might indulge in simply for physical release. Neither was she - nor could she be - a long-term lover that Oliver privately admitted he wanted but could never have.

But she was his for tonight, and he'd enjoy every moment of it.

"It's the next parts that might be tricky," he murmured.

"What - next - parts?" Her disjointed question was accompanied by a full-body shiver.

"This."

Oliver trailed his fingers down her abdomen, slipped them between her legs, and stroked the softness he found there.

She cried out and for the first time Oliver realized that her hands were fisted in his sheets.

He stilled his fingers. "Kara."

"Mm - more -"

"Kara, look at me." He made his tone a command, and her eyes opened and found their way to him. "You can touch me, too."

Slowly, she unclenched her hands from his sheets and brought them up to his shoulders. Oliver smiled at her, encouraging, and started circling her center with his fingertips again.

She moaned and her fingertips dug into his shoulders. He sped up his movement, feeling her body tense beneath him. She arched up off the bed, and he slammed one finger deep inside her.

Three points of pain accompanied her cry - his shoulders, and the finger he had inside her - but he kept stroking her until her breathing returned to normal. When it did, she tugged him down for a long, lingering kiss.

"You know we're not done yet," Oliver murmured.


	3. Chapter 3

The grin he gave her made Kara's insides clench with anticipation, and she rolled on her side to watch as he rose from the bed, stripped off his briefs, and reached for something in the bedside table.

It was only then that she noticed the tattoo of a Chinese dragon on his left shoulder - and the scars.

"Oliver." She reached out to touch his right shoulder, where a trio of scars made an obscene _H_ , deliberately not thinking about what might have caused the burn scars low on his back.

He turned to face her, and she forced herself to see the scars and tattoos on his chest and abs. Hesitantly, she traced the scar that ran under his left pectoral.

"This should have killed you," she murmured. "Most of them should have killed you."

"It's like you said." Oliver sat back on the bed, facing her. "Hardship makes us stronger."

"These go beyond hardship."

"Kara." Something in his tone made her meet his gaze. It was serious, but not sad. "What's important is that I survived. I'm still here. And we're still not done."

They definitely weren't done if his erection was anything to judge by, and Kara forced thoughts of his injuries aside, considering instead the things she admired, even loved, about him - his focus, and especially how it felt when he was focused on _her_ , his strength, his honor.

"Okay," she said finally. "Not done. What next?"

"This." He offered her a small, square metallic packet, and her breath caught.

"Are you sure?"

"It's what you really want to know."

It was, and even though she felt almost like she was using him, Kara blew out a breath and ripped the packet open. He laid back on the bed, and she straddled his legs, meeting his eyes as she slid the condom over his length.

His warm hands settled at her hips and he tugged her forward. She let him position her, and then guided herself down over his cock. He moaned as she did and his fingers dug into her.

"Squeeze," he said.

She did, and he hissed as his muscles clenched. His eyes clamped shut, and she knew she'd squeezed too hard.

"I'm so sorry -" Kara began, but he was shaking his head. "I knew I'd -"

"Kara." He caught her head with one hand, met her gaze. "It's okay. I'm okay. Just not quite so hard next time. Maybe squeeze slowly, and I'll let you know when to stop?"

Kara squeezed again, this time allowing herself to feel every minute change in the movement as she molded herself around him.

"There," he said. "That's perfect."

Kara nodded, squeezed again and again, locking the movement into her muscle memory.

"So good," Oliver murmured. "You can move, if you want."

"How?" But he was already guiding her, and she found a steady rhythm - firm, but not so hard she might hurt him. Gradually, she moved faster. "Is this okay?"

"Fast is good." The words were broken, his hips thrusting up to meet her, and Kara could only bend down to kiss him.

His arms wrapped around her, holding her close against his chest even though her hips still moved on him, and then Oliver was kissing her harder than she'd dared kiss him, and fleetingly she wondered if he, too, might sometimes worry about breaking his partner.

Then his rhythm changed, and he was pressing her hips down tight against him as he thrust up once, twice, and then his body stilled, half-arched off the bed. If it weren't for her super-hearing, Kara would never have heard his moan.

Something in his expression, so open and vulnerable in a way she didn't believe many people ever saw, made her more aroused than she already was. Her eyes closed without her conscious will, and she lost herself in the movement, the feeling, the tension that drew tighter and tighter within her and she was so close, so _close_ -

Then she was flying through the air, not by her own choice, to land beside Oliver on the bed, the fullness inside her replaced by the press of fingers outside her. She was close enough that she went over again, moaning with both pleasure and frustration until she came back down.

"Why -?" she began.

"Because I felt you come on my finger, earlier," Oliver said. "And don't look like that, it's just a bad bruise and it'll heal."

Despite his calm tone and reassuring words, Kara still flushed. "I can't believe I did that. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, Kara. Really." Oliver cupped her face in his hand, stroked his thumb over her cheekbone.

"But you need your hands - your bow."

Oliver held up his left forefinger. "I chose one I don't use as much. It's fine - or will be."

"But this is just what I didn't want to happen!" Kara lunged from the bed, pacing the room. "I wanted to not hurt anyone, including you."

"Hey." Oliver was on his feet in front of her, hands on her shoulders once again. "Better me than someone less prepared. And I've had much worse than one bruised, possibly sprained, finger."

"Not from me." But it was hard to keep beating herself up over it when he looked so sincere and open.

"Kara." Now his tone held a little bit of exasperation, and she found her mouth twitching with amusement.

"Okay," she said. "I trusted you to lead us against the Dominators. I can trust you with this."

"Good." He flashed her that grin again. "Be right back."

He disappeared into what must be the bathroom, reappeared a few minutes later, the condom dealt with. She envied his comfort in his own skin.

"Are you staying the night?"

The question surprised her, and then she thought it shouldn't. But the heat lingering in his eyes made her look down, suddenly shy. "If you want me to."

He held out a hand. "C'mon."


	4. Chapter 4

Ever since Lian Yu, Oliver woke with the sunrise unless he was dead tired and in a blacked-out room. The loft was anything but blacked out, so he wasn't surprised that he woke before Kara. He was surprised that he managed to slip out of bed and take a shower without waking her, but if she needed the rest, he wouldn't interrupt it.

He pulled on a T-shirt and jeans and made his way into the kitchen to start coffee brewing and log in to his mayoral accounts. If he'd known exactly how much paperwork was involved with the job, he'd never have taken it.

Only that was a lie, and Oliver tried not to lie to himself. He'd still have run, but he might have thought twice about taking on the duty of training new recruits to his cause at the same time. He was, after all, only human.

He was midway through next year's budget projections - better than this year's, but that wasn't saying much - when he heard the toilet flush and the water turn on, run for a few seconds, then shut off again.

He looked up when Kara came down the stairs. "Morning."

"I hope you don't mind, I took a ten-second shower."

Oliver quirked an eyebrow. "I'm sure you could've taken a ten-minute shower and I wouldn't mind. Breakfast?"

"Sure."

He felt her watching him as he stood and rounded the island to the refrigerator.

"You cook?" she asked.

"I had to learn how on the island. It's not the same here, but I can manage bacon, eggs, and toast." He pulled bacon, eggs, cream and butter from the fridge and set to work. "Coffee's brewing, if you want some."

"Thanks." Kara helped herself and then claimed a stool at one end of the counter, sipping quietly as Oliver worked.

"How are you?" he asked, looking up from where he whisked the eggs with cream, salt, and pepper.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"I keep telling you, I'm fine. See?" Oliver held up his left forefinger. "Not even swollen."

Before Kara could respond, the front door opened and Thea came in. She hesitated just inside, clearly surprised to see Kara, and then she was coming forward. "Hey."

"Morning," Oliver said. "Just making breakfast. Want some?"

"No, thanks, I'm good. But I'll take coffee."

Oliver gestured toward the coffeemaker with his spatula. "Help yourself, it's your place, too."

"Your talk go okay?" Thea glanced over her shoulder at Kara, and Oliver didn't think he was imagining the slightest emphasis on the word _talk_.

"Fine," Kara said awkwardly. "Just - fine."

"It was late when we got done, so I invited her to stay over," Oliver said. It was close enough to the truth.

"And I promised not to leave without saying goodbye," Kara added. "And I'm sure none of the hotels take credit cards or money from my Earth."

Before Thea's questioning could get too far into matters he assumed Kara wanted to keep private, Oliver said, "You questioning us about our night to avoid talking about yours?"

"No!" Thea turned. "Just making conversation, that's all."

"Right." Oliver winked at Kara, and slid a plate in front of her.

"But everything's okay on your Earth, right?" Thea pressed.

"I mostly came to get Oliver's perspective on an … unusual situation," Kara said. "But now that you ask, there's something else I could use some advice on."

"Shoot." Oliver plated his own breakfast, not at all surprised when Thea stole a strip of bacon from it.

"There's a new … well, hero, I suppose, in National City," Kara said. "Not an alien, just a regular guy in armor. I think."

"You think he's not a good guy?" Thea asked.

"I think he is, or is trying to be, but he's obviously new to the job, and I don't think he knows enough not to get himself hurt or killed."

"Sound familiar?" Thea nudged Oliver with her elbow.

"What?" Kara looked between them, confused.

"Wild Dog, Ragman, Mr. Terrific," Oliver said. "And Artemis, though you didn't meet her. All new, more enthusiastic than skilled. I've been training them."

"Torturing them, if you ask them," Thea said. "But they're getting better."

"Would you be willing to come to my Earth?" Kara asked. "Just long enough to see him in action and tell me what you think, I mean."

Before Oliver could respond, Thea said, "No."

"It wouldn't be for long," Kara reassured her. "But there aren't any normal human heroes - I don't know how to judge."

"No. Please, Ollie." Something in Thea's tone made Oliver turn to her. She flung her arms around him. "I lost you once. I can't lose you again."

"You're not losing me, Thea," Oliver assured her. "I'd just be… taking a trip."

"To _another Earth_. You were just going to China last time, and look what happened then."

"I should go," Kara began quietly.

"No," Oliver told her, putting just enough command in his tone that she started, then nodded. Oliver refocused on Thea, pulling away to look into her eyes. "Thea - I've gone other places since I got back - Russia and Nanda Parbat, for starters. You weren't this worried then. What's changed?"

"It's just - it's a whole other _universe_ ," Thea said. "If something goes wrong, I can't - nobody can help."

"Supergirl's got my back," Oliver reminded her. "And Cisco can vibe me back, too, if something goes wrong with her -" he broke off and glanced at Kara.

"Interdimensional extrapolator," she finished for him.

"Right, that." Oliver smiled a quick thanks to Kara before focusing on Thea once more. "And you heard her - I won't be gone long."

"Twenty-four hours," Thea said.

"Forty-eight," Oliver countered. Thea started to protest but he shook his head. "If I have to draw him out, I'll need the extra day."

"Forty-eight," Thea agreed. "But if you're even one minute late, I'm calling Cisco and we're coming to get you."

"Deal." Oliver hugged her again, then turned to a puzzled-looking Kara. "What day was it when you left your Earth?"

"Tuesday," she said. "This would be Wednesday morning for me."

"It's Wednesday here, too," Oliver said. "How about you come back for me Friday night?"

"It's a date," Kara said, and slid down from the barstool to hug first Thea, then him.

"Thanks again," she said. "For everything."

"Any time," Oliver replied.

"See you Friday." Kara activated the portal that would take her back to her Earth. As she'd done after the fight with the Dominators, she left without looking back.

"I'll never get used to that," Thea said as the portal closed.

"Me, either." Oliver could admit it, if only to his sister. Still, he busied himself with cleaning up the remains of their breakfast.

Thea's voice interrupted him. "So, you going to tell me what her visit was really about?"

Here ends this first chapter of my version of Kara and Oliver's story. I'm working on a sequel to it, but as we're coming into the holiday season, I'm not making any promises as to when it'll be up. Thanks for coming along for this part of their journey with me!


	5. Chapter 5

The sequel to "An Unexpected Request" is up - it's titled "Between Two Worlds," and you can find it elsewhere on this site.

I hope you enjoy it!


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